Preparing Your Home

Does my entire house need to be remodeled in order to sell? Do I need to update my kitchen? Should I repaint every room? Will I need to replace all the carpet? Can I just leave everything exactly as it is and sell it that way?

The simple answer to all of these questions: yes. Every home is unique along with every seller. Sometimes our answers are situational (based on the current seller’s scenario). Sometimes our answers are based on the current local real estate market (it’s pretty hot right now…just in case you didn’t already know that). But more often than not, a seller needs to do far less than they think in order to prepare their home for sale. Here are the key things we tell almost every single seller:

1. Clean and declutter. A clean house (and I’m talking really clean…baseboards, ceiling fans, windows, the works) always shows amazingly well. As does a very open and sparsely decorated home. Your decor style may be the most amazing thing ever - but for the sake of showings, you need to become a minimalist. Relax. It’s not forever…just a few weeks (maybe days in this market).

2. If your carpets are salvageable, don’t replace them. Simply pay to have them professionally cleaned. It will be worth every penny - and much cheaper than new carpet.

3. Only repaint rooms that are super bright and personalized. Do not overthink this one. Is the room neon green? Repaint it. Easy Peasy.

Selecting Neutral Paint Color

At least once a week, we receive a text from a client asking about which neutral paint color to use in their home. Our answers change as the trends change, but generally speaking we have some tried and true favorites.

Neutral paint color does not mean what it once did. While white, ivory, grey, beige and taupe are all neutral there are a few newcomers to the party. Lots of light blues and greens are currently considered neutral and are definitely worth a consideration if you need just a smidge more color in your life. If you decide to try a blue or green neutral, this is our pro tip that will make your life MUCH easier: half your paint store mix the color at 50%. Always. Otherwise the color will simply be too much color. But at 50% everything seems far more soothing.

Here is our list of favorites:

Alabaster - Sherwin Williams (warm light ivory)

Pearl White - Sherwin Williams (warm ivory)

Cumulous Cloud - Benjamin Moore (light greige)

Lullaby - Sherwin Williams (light blue)

Sea Salt - Sherwin Williams (light green/grey)

Smoke - Benjamin Moore (light blue/grey)

To Inspect or Not To Inspect

Many buyers often have questions about what inspections to have completed on a new home purchase. The easiest answer is this: whatever gives you peace of mind to purchase the home.

The choices for inspections are (almost) limitless:

HVAC

Roof

Plumbing

Electrical

Termite

Radon

Well

Septic

Water Quality

Some buyers choose to forego these inspections and do a whole house inspection. Some counties/cities/states have mandatory inspections that must be completed for each sale.

As you are touring homes and narrowing down your search, consider what inspections will give you peace of mind. What things would keep you up at night if you didn’t know everything about the performance of that item. That’s exactly what should be ordered when you do write an offer on your new home.

Smells, Smells and More Smells

So your home is officially listed. Photos have been taken, listing contract all signed and you are ready for the showings to begin. You immediately want to guarantee that your home smells wonderful. Here’s the problem, “wonderful" is extremely subjective when it comes to smells. Some people love the warm scent of vanilla while others despise it. Some love floral scents while others actually start sneezing uncontrollably.

The solution: clean smells. Use cleaning products that…wait for it…smell clean. Not heavy bleach smells, just nice and light cleaning scents. Just prior to your showings, do a touch up cleaning using things that smell good.

One of our favorites is the Sprayway Glass Cleaner. Spray and wipe a little on mirrors in bathrooms, glass doors, even on the exterior of your microwave and oven just before you walk out of the house and we guarantee your home will smell amazing.